Sugar Rush'ed...

Happy Friday! I write the 'Sugar Rush' column + other sweet stuff for Serious Eats.

We're all exotic this week with ramen and savory ramen chocolates, milkshakes with cactus pear and figs. More figs in a mousse cake, and an utter infatuation with all things sweet at La Boîte à Biscuits. This spice+biscuit gallery did a collaboration with Poilâne, and now you can get Poilâne biscuits made using La Boîte à Biscuits spices. Amazing, amazing! Don't miss out on their housemade biscuits either, especially the Snow Clouds.

Sugar Rush: Snow Clouds at La Boîte à Biscuits

Sweet Finds: Komforte Chockolates

Sugar Rush: September's Flavors of the Month

Philadelphia: Cactus Pear and Fig Milkshake at Capogiro Gelato

Sugar Rush: Fig Mousse Cake at Gotham Bar and Grill

Sugar Rush: Mini Scones at Bis.Co.Latte

Where To Drink Matcha Lattes in New York

Sugar Rush: Poilâne Pas Pour Les Chiens

Théière « OPIUM » by Mariage Frères

Major teapot eye candy. Just because it is Friday. And because...well, why not? A gold-enamelled porcelain teapot with matching cups. New this season from Mariage Frères. Ahhh! Some girls fall for Manolos, I fall for gorgeous teapots. Man does this company know how to market. Hope everyone has fun plans for the weekend :)

A Time to Plant: Southern-Style Garden Living

Welcome. I love grand hotels, don't you? There's something so lovely and luxurious in their escape. So fantasy-like, a dream life. Especially the ones in New York City. And the best part is, you never need to make the bed.

At the Loews Regency Hotel this afternoon, James Farmer hosted a celebration for his new book, A Time to Plant: Southern-Style Garden Living. He owns a design company in Georgia which specializes in floral, interiors, and residential landscape designs. And it all comes together in this lifestyle book.

There were chats and nibbles and drinks. Think rosemary-spiced pecans and chervil-scented salmon croquettes with herb dips. Sage cornbread served on spoons with sausage and fennel, and pork tenderloin on rosemary skewers...

...a clean salad of mustard greens, turnip green, spinach, and sunflower sprouts with fried sage. Parsley dressing to tie it all together. A mouthful indeed! All the bright green colors made me so happy. We need to get on the track of eating more salads at home...or at least branch away from our current dumpling-heavy diet. At least it's homemade!

I might have devoured more than my share of rosemary biscuits with sweet herb butter but they were excellent, and still warm.

It felt like an afternoon tea party, especially when accompanied with chilled glasses of his famous Farmer's Tea. Slightly less sweet than a classic Southern Sweet Tea, this one is made from a combo of Earl Grey and Lipton (!) with simple syrup, fresh lemon and mint. It proved perfectly refreshing. I was going to write down the recipe for you, but it turns out James already has the recipe on his website.

James' book isn't a straight up cooking, planting, or design, but a bit of all with a strong Southern twist. While I won't be cultivating gardens anytime soon (I can't even keep basil alive), it's gorgeous and useful for those who want to learn. Chapters are split between cooking and entertaining, with studies in hydrangeas, perennials. There's even a chapter called "Herban" Gardening (herb cultivation), and another on color schemes.

I wouldn't mind living in a suite in this hotel ;) And what do you know...they even offer in-residence extended stay. Park Avenue and 61st Street, sign me up!

Fresh Tofu, Shaké Teishoku, O-Banzai: EN Japanese Brasserie

Visit EN Japanese Brasserie during the day and sun streams though the open window, coming in from Leroy Street. This modern Japanese izakaya is busy in the evenings, but most beautiful during the day. It's only then you can appreciate the near floor to ceiling windows, the quiet of the enormous space and private dining rooms, high ceilings and always gorgeous flower displays. French Press Coffee for Pierre, please.

And I'll go with the Wood Dragon Oolong. I can't imagine the enormous collection of tea pots and cups they must have stored in the kitchen!

Come for lunch on the weekends, it's when they serve Shaké Teishoku, their take on the traditional Japanese Breakfast. On the bottom corner is salt-grilled Scottish salmon, move left to the chilled housemade tofu, then oshinko (housemade Asa-Zuké pickles), obanzai, nori, mizuna and watercress salad with ponzu dressing. And finally steamed white rice and housemade miso soup at the top. Not bad for $16. A balanced meal for sure, and always the perfect remedy when I'm feeling homesick for Hawai'i.

The most famous dish here is the fresh tofu served warm with wari joyu. It's made on the hour every hour, and always fresh. I've written about this tofu on multiple occasions here, here, and here. Supple and warm, it's by far the best housemade tofu in town (with Aburiya Kinnosuke coming in second). Sometimes I like to come here in the late afternoon/early dinner for *only* warm tofu and sake. Such a luxury!

A small selection of seven different O-Banzai is also offered at $5 dish. When you don't feel like partaking in any of the larger courses, or even the tasting menu, just order warm tofu and three o-banzai to accompany. This is Shoyu-Braised Pork Belly and Lotus Root - always needs a bowl of warm rice to feel complete :) Also look out for Nasu Agebitashi, fried eggplant in dashi with a flurry of bonito flakes, and Ingen To Mushidori Goma Ae - string beans and steamed chicken with a nutty sesame dressing. And then relax and take the time you need, because it's never full at lunch (or bunch), and they never rush a table. A favorite neighborhood spot? Yes, without a doubt :)

EN Japanese Brasserie
435 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
(212) 647-9196

NYC: Cheese Plates Around Town

Yesterday evening, I was April's +1 to an indulgent dinner at Brasserie Beaumarchais in the Meatpacking District. I've been itching to check this place out - Pierre and all his European friends love to come here (they still refer to the restaurant by its' former name, Bagatelle). Cocktails, foie gras, and perfectly seared scallops to devour. For dessert we shared sugar-dusted apple beignets with deeps bowls of crème fraiche and this cheese plate. How could you not fall for a cheese plate right? We compose our own at home, but I enjoy seeing how different restaurants choose to create and present cheese plates.

At Otto it comes with cherries, truffled-honey, soft apricots....

Bouley doesn't serve the cheese with any accompaniments but those paper thin cheese curls literally melt in the mouth. Simple perfection.

A June visit to Tocqueville brought pecorino with rhubarb and tiny strawberries...

...and at 'ino it comes with olives at the center of the plate. We had a beautiful cheese presentation at Corton for Pierre's birthday last year and the sheep's milk cheese tasting (pictured above) at Eleven Madison Park is stunning to say the least.

As far as dinner parties go, the prettiest cheese plate I've had was at Michael's apartment. Honeycomb, local plums and a microgreen salad with Selles-sur-Cher goat cheese. Though slightly messy to eat, honeycomb does wonders for presentation.

At ABC Kitchen they do a combo - a local cured meats and cheese dish. Pickled carrots and honeycomb cube included. Gramercy Tavern (pictured above) keeps it simple with honey and almonds and trio of different breads. The first time I had their cheese plate was in 2008 with Don. Come to think of it, that was my very first cheese plate in NYC! Any other favorites around the city? I'm curious to try ones at The Dutch and Gotham Bar & Grill among many others. Shall report back, cholesterol be dammed.

Do You Work from Home? aka Dealing with Jackhammering

outside our window

Do many of you work from home? I've been doing so for three years now and I have to say, it's much more enjoyable than working in a corporate office. Especially the ones where your little cubicle is on the 40th floor and you have to swipe cards and past security guards before getting in. Or the ones where you work at a client site and they shove you in the basement or company kitchen because there's "no more space." Actually the kitchen part wasn't so bad - only three feet away from the fully-stocked fridge and first dibs at catered lunches hah. The only thing I really miss about working in a corporate environment was the diversity of co-workers and an endless supply of Diet Coke and Haagen Dazs bars.

messy desk, candles on dark weather days

Perks of working from home includes not getting properly dressed until noon (only sometimes!), storing your tea in a wall shelf behind the desk, burning candles on dark weather days when normal lights are decidedly boring, rarely needing to lug around a laptop, never forgetting/leaving behind things in the office. Basically having all your stuff in one place. I like to mix work/professional and play/personal, everything together. Mentally maintaining two separate lives is difficult, and I don't say that sarcastically.

breakfast at home on Wednesday morning

There are downsides as well. Such as the jackhammering. The entrance to our building is on Mercer Street, which is wonderful and quiet. The other side is Broadway, the complete opposite of Mercer. Cabs driving south all hours of the day. The jackhammering started in June. It continued and by the time August rolled around, I was used to it. In fact, the daily 8am start of jackhammering functioned as my alarm clock and rhythm for the workday. But then it went away in September and for awhile I was pretty thrown off. It was actually difficult to get work done without the steady, rapid dum-dum-dum of the jack-hammer. Then I got used to the quiet again, peaceful, thank goodness.

But this morning! It started again! I thought I was going to go crazy. I checked with the construction worker downstairs and apparently the jackhammering will continue until December. A blessing or a curse? I really don't know :)

Pretty Scenes: La Maison des Trois Thés

More goodies from the October issue of Travel + Leisure. I've been itching to visit La Maison des Trois Thés in Paris for the longest time. The salon is run by tea master Yu Hui Tseng who is known for carrying some of the most exquisite and rare teas in France. Just thinking about this makes my heart beat faster! However due to poor planning, we didn't make it to the tea shop last month*...or last year for that matter. But I guarantee you we will make it to La Maison des Trois Thés in 2012. Nothing can stop us!

My favorite article in this issue is The Asia Effect by Heather Smith Macisaac. An indulgent investigative piece on how, "from hotels to high-end dining, Paris is awash in the style of the far east." In addition to La Maison des Trois Thés, Ladurée is mentioned. Look at the above photo. The shot directly above the tea urns is the Rue Bonaparte location of Ladurée's tea salon. Did you know the wall paper at that particular location features bamboo and peacocks? "Chinoiserie wallpaper!" The article is full of little peeks into the Shangri-La Hotel Paris and Mandarin Oriental Paris. And what article is complete without a touch of haute couture? Givenchy and Louis Vuitton in this case ;)

I thought this bit on requesting that customers not wear perfume in the tasting room was somewhat excessive. You figure that if a customer is going out of their way to schedule a tasting they would know not to wear interfering scents. Having to explicitly request it is somewhat insulting. Just a small quibble, perhaps it's just me ;)

*We did try a few of the teas during our visit to Jacques Genin, and they were lovely...but not the same as going directly to the tea salon.

NYC: Malaysia Noodle Festival

Sweaty, crowded...and seriously delicious. The humidity must be at an all-time high today. I walked over to the Malaysia Noodle Festival in the Meatpacking District this morning and was already dripping sweat by the time I arrived. Impossible to miss. I love how the festival is planted right in the center of Chelsea Square with big trucks driving down either side. Look to your left, that's the Apple Store. North to Chelsea Market and south to the Standard Hotel. Oh yes, and the High Line of course ;)

Couldn't decide between Spice Market's Seafood Laksa and Chicken Vermicelli Laksa from Ember Room, so I ate both. Good choice. The Spice Market one is on the left, small portion but flavorful and abundant with shrimp, scallops, and fish, while the Ember Room one came with green + red peppers, shredded dark meat chicken. And in the center? Mee Goreng with Shrimp Cake from Laut on 17th Street. There was a long line for this dish, but totally worth it. Don't forget chili sauce. I must have looked like a glutton devouring all three plates alone, such is the price of satisfaction.

Variety Packs: Steven Smith Teamaker

Tuesday morning, down to my last few tea sachets. Loose leaf is ideal, but when you need sachets in a pinch - and who doesn't, I love the ones from Steven Smith Teamaker. This particular box was purchased from The Tea & Honey Store...though it's slightly cheaper if you get it direct from Steven Smith Teamaker. A fun variety pack tucked into a sturdy string-tie box, good for the indecisive [waves hands].

Two sachets each of black, green, and herbals teas: Brahmin, Lord Bergamot, Fex, Mao Feng Shui, Meadow and Peppermint Leaves. We always go through the herbals ones first, then green, and save the black teas for last. And then you can save the box! I use it to store other brands of tea bags as well as sugar packets and random knick-knacks.

We're on our fifth box of this variety pack and counting, Pierre suggests that maybe it's time to switch things up. We shall see, old habits die hard ;)

This is what the box looks like full - all the pretty, slightly muted colors are indeed fall appropriate. On the stove this morning: boiling sliced ginger and hot water with a slip of Chinese brown sugar. Slide in a Brahmin sachet, brew three minutes, close to perfection!

Rosewater: Jurlique, Mymoné, and Nielsen-Massey

Received an email from Alice asking if I made my own rosewater after this post. It's always been on my to-do list, I just haven't found a reliable source for fresh rose petals. So if you know of a source, please do tell! Until I do, these are three great brands of rosewater that I use for both culinary and beauty needs. The one from Jurlique is reserved for beauty because of a higher price point. Theirs is the most gentle and light of the set (cheaper rose waters can have a harsh scent). Mymoné and Nielsen-Massey both make rosewater that is intended for culinary use - that's actually how I first learned about their rosewaters. But they do equally well when poured into a spritzer bottle. Store it in the fridge, and you'll have cool rosewater to spray on your body or face throughout the day. It's especially nice right before you go to sleep. Sweet dreams, guaranteed ;)

P.S. If you live in Asia or Europe, Kiehl's has an amazing French Rosewater. But they decided to discontinue it in the US because, "Americans just don't get the concept." Seriously, that's what the salesgirl said. I wrote about it here and always stock up on a few bottles when we are in Paris. Absolutely luxurious. They get used up so fast!

Sunday Habits: Le Pain Quotidien

Do you have Sunday habits? Routines, no matter how simple or complicated, that the day or week wouldn't seem complete without? We have one. Waking up early. Walking three blocks to Le Pain Quotidien at the corner of 11th Street and Broadway.

We'll take those last two seats at the very end of the communal table please. Yes, this is an international chain. We love it anyways. Honey color wood, and glass jars filled with chocolate-hazelnut spread. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, on the table.

A simple menu of tartines soups and salads. I always order the same thing. A pot of Fresh Mint Tisane and soup of the day.

Sometimes it's a cozy Split Pea Soup...

...other times it's a vegan soup like the Black Bean Soup I had this morning. Pierre always gets a hot or iced coffee. Maybe a latte...

...but always with a warm Quiche Lorraine. Unless!

Unless what? Unless the specials are tempting. And they often are. Once a Kale Caesar Salad with buttery croutons...

...and today, Endives and Arugula with Fourme d'Ambert, one of my favourite blue cheeses we devour much too frequently. It's smooth and velvety with just enough of a kick. As good in a salad as it is smothered on a toasted baguette heel or cracker. A quick afternoon snack or three, shhhh ;)

And don't forget dessert. An Apple and Almond Tart to share. Pierre declares it, soo French. Golden! Must learn how to bake this at home.

Hope everyone is having good weekend :)

Le Pain Quotidien
801 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
(212) 677-5277